Reflections from Rwanda by ORI Board member Eloise Austin

This summer, I returned to Kigali to spend time with our current students and to observe final interviews for the new class of ORI scholars. The student selection process is a four-month marathon that seeks to identify students with the greatest potential to develop into innovative thinkers and leaders in their respective fields. Our team assesses each candidate’s background, capabilities and motivation through a review of written applications, language exam scores, academic accomplishments and in-person interviews.

Eloise with students and ORI co-founders Dai Ellis and Oliver Rothschild

This year, the ORI team once again embarked on a countrywide search for talent, interviewing 127 final candidates from an initial pool of 2,700 applicants. It was challenging to narrow down the candidate list, but the 27 new students selected clearly demonstrated an impressive blend of ambition and intelligence, not to mention extraordinary resilience in the face of personal loss. We believe that these 27 students, along with the students in our current classes, are uniquely positioned to take on leadership roles and to drive positive economic and social change in Rwanda. With each new class of ORI scholars, young Rwandans who would typically be excluded from higher education acquire the tools necessary to pursue meaningful careers.

At ORI, we try to make sure that our students are forward-looking and career-oriented, proactively developing the skills that will enable them to thrive in their post-university lives. This summer, I had the chance to discuss career goals with students, and I emerged from my trip impressed by the innovative and ambitious plans many of them have developed. Nicholas, a student who is nearing the end of his engineering coursework, excitedly described to me his internship with a construction company and his dream of pursuing an aerospace engineering degree. Connie, a second-year student at the Kigali Health Institute, discussed her plans to open a physical therapy business in Kigali. Timothée, who is studying computer science at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, outlined his business idea for developing the wholesale electricity market in Rwanda.

I have served on the ORI Board for three years, and it has been exciting to witness the organization grow from a handful of students receiving a basic scholarship package to almost 175 students receiving a comprehensive set of resources no longer limited in scope to university studies—our program now includes workshops, internships, mentoring, and unique leadership opportunities. One of the highlights of my trip was observing the first-ever ORI workshop on entrepreneurship, where our students learned how to develop business plans. The exuberant classroom chatter and rapid exchange of ideas again provided me with first-hand evidence of ORI’s impact on the minds and futures of young Rwandans.

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